Rating: 
Summary: "Among the major writers of our times.." ha, ha, ha
Review: Again, I fell for the mark "Oprah's Book Club". One star is one too many. Drudging through A MAP OF THE WORLD was a waste of time. What a misguiding title! Actually, I was gleeful when the main character was thrown into prison without bail, because she was so self-centered, self-absorbed, and aggravating, that she deserved it. To find out she was innocent was disappointing and all the details in this book are quite unrelated, unreal and dreadfully boring. The trial is totally unbelievable; the author dreamed up a form of justice not likely to be practised in this universe; the entire story could be told on 15 pages easily, and nobody would finish reading them...
Rating:
Summary: BORING, SAD, DEPRESSING, Blah blah blah blah blah
Review: I wouldn't give this even one star but one is the lowest you can go. This is my current book that was picked for the book club. I have bad luck reading any oprah books. This read faster than most of the others I have read, but the ones I have read from Oprah picks have this same depressing nothing really happens kind of theme. Our first book read for my book club was "The Red TEnt" and that is the best book I have read in a REALLY long time.
Rating:
Summary: never before, never again
Review: I am an avid reader with a passion for engaging novels...particularly those that I can become absorbed with and identify with. As a college student I have had to read some of the most boring text books ever written.....and I would give them a higher rating than I would this book. Never before have I truly trudged through a book. The reading experience was painful. And (for the first time ever...) I put down a book with no desire ever to pick it back up again. The characters (and setting for that matter) were dry, unsympathetic, and shallow.
And six of my friends have also read it and felt the same way. I give it one star simply because it was a pretty cover. (wink)
Rating:
Summary: extremely put-downable
Review: i rarely leave a book unfinished, and this is definitely one of those rare times. i am glad i got the book for only a quarter at a library book sale. i am ready to take it out and put it anywhere, probably on a park bench when it stops snowing so maybe someone can benefit from it, someone who will sympathize with the book's self-centered and extremely boring characters. i went past page 50, hoping the book would kick in, but it didn't. i should have learned from my first experience with jane hamilton's The Book of Ruth, but i thought i would give this author a second chance. well, this is her last, as far as i am concerned. it is a waste of time for serious readers. use your time, money and effort on the classics. this one is not even worth summarizing.
Rating: 
Summary: A VERY SLOW READ
Review: I WAS VERY DISAPOINTED IN IT...I DONT THINK THE TITLE HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE STORY LINE? BASICALLY IT WAS BORING, TO ME.
Rating: 
Summary: my review
Review: I found it very hard to read this book. I know life sometimes is hard on someone, but this is taking it to the extreme. I tried to empathize with the main character, Alice, especially after she suffered the drowning of her neighbor's daughter, but I could not accept her reaction and even less the incredible turn around she goes through once she is imprisoned.Maybe this means this author is very good to create such reaction in me? But I thought the aim of reading was to enjoy oneself and it did not happen for me here. All that happened in this book to one person, could have filled three books.
Rating: 
Summary: JUST EVERYDAY LIFE WITH BIG PROBLEMS
Review: THIS BOOK IS NOT A THRILLER BUT IT DOES HAVE A TALE OF REACTIONS TO AN INDIVDUAL THE TOWNS PEOPLE DON'T LIKE. HUMAN RELATIONS VARY BUT WHEN A GROUP OF PEOPLE SHARE A COMMON DISLIKE FOR A FAMILY RESISTING THE TOWN'S DESIRE, IT CAN GET DOWN RIGHT NASTY. A FARM WAS WHAT HOWARD WANTED MOST OF ALL, SO HIS WIFE ALICE SAID OK. BUT SHE HAD TO WORK PART TIME AS A SCHOOL NURSE TO SUPPORT THAT FARM. BUT JUST LIKE TODAY THE TOWN HAD EXPANDED INTO THE COUNTRY AND THEY WANTED HOWARD'S FARM FOR LAND DEVELOPMENT.THAT SEPARATED THEIR GOALS RIGHT THERE BECAUSE HOWARD LOVED THE LAND AND WANTED TO KEEP HIS FARM DESPITE THE COST AND TIME HE HAD TO PUT INTO IT. ONE FAMILY MAINTAINED THEIR FRIENDSHIP AND ALICE AND TERRY SHARED THEIR CHILDREN'S JOYS.A TRAGIC ACCIDENT HAPPENED ONE DAY WHEN ALICE WAS KEEPING THE CHILDREN AND ALICE ENDED UP IN JAIL.TERRY WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO REMAINED HER FRIEND. HOWARD HAD TO GIVE UP THE FARM AND DID SOME WORK FOR TERRY'S HUSBAND. DURING THAT TIME TERRY BECAME A LITTLE TOO SUPPORTIVE OF HOWARD BECAUSE HER HUSBAND WAS TOO BUSY WITH HIS OWN GRIEF. HOWARD DECIDED TO SELL THE FARM TO RAISE THE BAIL MONEY FOR ALICE. THIS IS A SLOW MOVING STORY BUT JANE HAMILTON HAS THE KNACK OF TELLING A STORY THAT GETS YOU INTERESTED ANDKEEPING YOUR ATTENTION. SHE DEVELOPES EACH CHARACTER SO YOU BECOME INVOLVED IN THE STORY WITHYOUR OWN FEELINGS. AT TIMES I FELT I WAS THERE IN THE ROOM OR OUT AT THE POND MYSELF. THE EMOTIONS AND REACTIONS TO THE FAMILY'S PROBLEMS MAKE THIS A VERY MOVING STORY, ONE YOU CAN TAKE YOUR TIME EXPLORING INSTEAD OF TURNING THE PAGES AT A BREAK NECK SPEED TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. HAMILTON ALSO WROTE "THE BOOKOF RUTH" IN THE SAME RELAXING PACE.I READ A LOT OF MYSTERY/THRILLERSAND THIS IS JUST THE SORT OF BOOK TO READ TO RESTORE YOUR OUTLOOK ON EVERYDAY LIVING AND TRUE HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS AND INTERACTIONS. I LIKED BOTH BOOKS AND READ "RUTH" TWICE. I'LL PROBABLY READ THIS ONE AGAIN TOO, AFTER A FEW MORE THRILLERS!
Rating:
Summary: A Book in Search of the Right Reader
Review: I was very suprised to see all of the negative comments listed for this book; I was instantly hooked after reading the first sentence. I think A Map of the World might only appeal to people who enjoy Hamilton's writing style... so if you're considering getting it, be sure to read some of the sample pages that are available and see how you feel about her voice. Also, when I read a book, I care much less about the plot than I do the quality and care that is taken in writing the book. A Map of the World is written with great creativity and honesty. I feel the characters were very well developed, unlike some reviewers. Also, I found the plot to be interesting and stimulating. ... but, like I said, A Map of the World's quality depends on the person reading it.
Rating:
Summary: A Book I'm Glad I Finished
Review: This book moves languidly until the end and I admit I read it in spurts. At times it was too depressing while I was in a depressed mood but when my mood lifted I was better able to be objective. Hamilton's prose is beautiful and the way she gets into the characters' interiors is poignant enough, though I doubt many people have the profound kind of conversations these characters display here (though I wish it was the case). If you look at the story as how a person can be ostracized from their community based on false accusations, the inner strength it takes to forgive your friends and loved ones when it's so much easier to be bitter and blame and how we have to persevere in the face of losing our dreams, you can see how this book can be analogous to our own lives. And the characters do successfully move on and their story becomes just a sad episode in their lives.
Rating:
Summary: Skip this one!
Review: My daughter read this book and sent her copy to me stating that she wasn't sure I'd like it much but it passed the time for her while she rode the subway to work. Wow, what a chore it was to get through it! The characters were not well developed, the plot ordinary, and the story slow and boring. I was not surprised that it did not hold my interest as it is one of Oprah's and I have been very disappointed in the other two I've read, Stone's From the River and Songs in Ordinary Time. Skip this one!
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